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Cookies for Sale: 77 cents for women, a dollar for men

A bake sale is demonstrating the wage gap between men and women.

If you’re like me and did fundraising for different events in high school, then chances are you participated in a bake sale. Maybe you hosted one yourself? Or perhaps you bought all the delicious treats you needed to satisfy that sweet tooth? Either way, bake sales are a great way for a group to earn some money, and in the case of one high school group, even raise awareness for gender equality.

Photo: Jordan High School Young Democrats Facebook: HuffPost Education

Recently, the Young Democrats group at Jordan High School in Utah, held a bake sale to raise awareness about the gender wage gap. For two days, they charged women 77 cents for baked goods, and charged men $1. These prices reflect the often cited statistic that women still earn 77 cents to every dollar a man makes.

I for one, am in favor of this idea and support their bake sale. First off, as a woman it means I get to buy more cookies, sweet! But also, high school is a time when people are just starting to enter the workforce, and it’s important to start these conversations early. Informing people about an issue and getting them talking is the first step to creating meaningful change.

It’s in this spirit of informing others, that the Gates Foundation and the Clinton Foundation worked together to create the “No Ceiling Full Participation Report.” This report is a data driven approach to gender equality, and looks at the gains women and girls have made over the last two decades, as well as the remaining gaps.

I’d like to highlight some of the work statistics for you below, and encourage you to click on the photos to take action and help spread the word.

1) More work and no pay

Source: No Ceilings

Around the world women spend more time than men on household work and caring for family members. True, these labors do not typically produce income, but it is still work and this statistic shows how it’s not being equally distributed between the genders. In India, women work 5 hours and 52 minutes more a day than their male counterparts. That’s nearly a full workday in most countries!

2) Maternity leave

Source: No Ceilings

There are nine countries globally that do not provide paid maternity leave for employed mothers after they give birth. Sadly, the United States is one of these. Paid maternity leave is an important way for governments to support mothers and families, and protect the employee’s economic opportunities.

3) Not enough female executives

Source: No Ceilings

Although in many countries women complete equal if not higher levels of education than men, they are less likely to work in executive management or decision making roles. You can click on the above graph to see how this issue looks globally.

But I think the issue of unrepresented female executives was summed up nicely when a New York Times article wrote “fewer large companies are run by women than by men named John”. That’s right, if you compared the number of ALL female executives at large companies to just the number of male executives named John, the men would still outnumber them. That’s insane!

We can bridge the gaps surrounding gender equality in the workforce, and it is possible for women to receive equal wages and better representation in executive positions. But in order for this to happen everyone - governments, private sectors, civil society- will need to come together to take action and create a resounding dialogue. The more informed we are as a global community, and the louder we voice our concerns, the greater impact we can have in creating change.

So take action TODAY and make some noise by clicking on one of the above images to help spread the message about gender equality.